Accuphase DP-100 DC-101 Sleeping Giant Or Dinosaur

I am going to get rage to my response, but here it goes:

Your experiences with Accuphase and poor answers is the coming trend in this industry. The internet is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to the consumer. It allows people to shop, bargain, pit dealers against eachother, pepper manufacturers with questions and allow the consumer to make an informed decision for the best possible price by buying used, or through someone blowing out the product online NEW at used prices. It really is a dream come true.

The problem is, this business model sets up the distributor and dealer to invest mass amounts of time, providing free consulting for the consumer for no profit. Accuphase is attempting to put the power back in the hands of the dealer, but clearly the consumer is suffering if he has no dealer. So what will eventually happen, if all high-end does not go belly up, is the following:

1) Internet dealers will prevail, brick and mortars close, manufacturers start to sell direct with high customer support. Consumer buys used online, or NEW at "used" prices.
2) Manufacturers and Internet dealers are now actually competing with eachother. Both lower price to compete with used market and eachother, and decrease customer support to maximize financial solvency. (TODAY WE ARE HERE)
3) Internet dealer fails, no profit, undercut by manufacturer.
4) Manufacturer sells direct with NO customer service at lowest prices to remain solvent.

The reasons for this are simple. Those dealers providing hours of consultation to everone over the phone, when the consumer goes and buys used gear will have two options: 1)Provide no customer service, maximize volume and sell at prices that rival used gear, or 2) close down.

It will take time, but dealers will eventually be extinct (me included). Both scenarios will offer less and less customer support, and shift the risk totally onto the consumer to buy and sell his gear to "hear" new products. All products will eventually be sold factory direct, with no customer service. Dismal outlook, but the bottom line is that the old days of great customer support and consultation were supported through products that actually sold near the retail value.

Of course Ferenc, please do tell us about your experience with your Accuphase combo. Have you been able to compare it with other more recent players? E.G. DCS stack, Esoteric X-01, etc. . .?

Actually, Fatcataudio, the customer support and preselling will end up in a call center in the Phillipines or India!

I agree with the notion that there is room for the Dell model or the Accenture model. This means either direct from the manufacturer sales and support or a total cradle to grave systems and support approach by individual dealers united in a feudal network of sorts. Thus, there is profitable scenario for limited production, hi-end makers and dealers only. Given that restrictions on internet sales are on shaky legal ground due to restraint of trade issues, the opportunity is for the manufacturer to support demonstration/territory dealers only. There are two cases, viz, the dealer that services the territory or who does the demonstration gets the credit for the sale no matter what. So if the client sees the product on-line and buys it on-line from a dealer at zip code xxx, the credit goes to the dealer where the client lives, zip code yyy. If the client has a demonstration at dealer, and buys it online or from another dealer, the demonstrating dealer gets the credit. Demonstrating dealers have the option to then work with each other to refer out of town customers to their local dealer, especially if this is reciprocated. (State sales tax collection issues would be manageable.) However, given the emotional age of most audio manufacturers and dealers, the probability that these enlightened scenarios, that some manufacurers like Accuphase and Sound Labs are trying to support, will manifest for the good of the discerning client, is doubtful at best (for the mainstream) unless the manufacturers not only have sound business practices but have good ability to read the character and integrity of the dealer and create a true dealer community. If dealers do not all hang together, they surely be hung individually, to paraphrase, was it Paine? FATCATaudio is right, the internet is the noose.

Accuphase practice strict territorial separation to hide the fact that their same products will command double the dealer price in Germany than they do, say, in Singapore - full service included. If you live in a country without a dealership, you fall between the cracks, which is extremely frustrating. I have found great support from a California based dealer (Fred of Katli Audio) with all my issues and problems and that why he is getting my business. So yes, the internet can work for dealers as well but it is a different business model.

When it comes to true hi-end stuff, one can either purchase pricey components at a discount (?) from the internet and go through the trials and tribulations at home - or secure the good support of a local dealer. It's everyone's choice but don't assume that option A is cheaper. Far from it - unless you KNOW exactly what to expect. In 99.9% of all cases this isn't so. There are simply too many variables in HiFi that will have a major impact on the audible result.